Scoot: Game on, New Orleans!

by Scoot,posted Feb 1 2013 8:06PM

We are living in the Super Bowl City and I hope you have taken time or will take time to enjoy this special moment in New Orleans!

The all major networks are here along with over 5,000 people with the national and international media. And the city is filling up with celebrities! Oh, by the way, the teams are here, too! As I watched the Ravens’ team busses led by police escorts leave downtown earlier today and I saw people on the street stop and wave as the busses passed, I couldn’t help but be reminded about the great distraction for the players, who are here not to party, but to work.

Super Bowl history is littered with games that were boring. When you experience all the pomp and circumstance in the city as Super Bowl Weekend ramps up, you almost have to remind yourself that there’s a game Sunday. One of the talents a championship team must possess is the ability to mentally focus while surrounded by the biggest sports party in America. The distractions are part of the game, but the team that can best focus their attention on preparing for the game Sunday will be the Super Bowl Champs for 2013.

I am so proud of New Orleans and how the city has once again risen to the occasion and performed like a champion. The city is performing at a peak level right now. The coordination of city services, law enforcement, the many volunteers and the people of New Orleans proves what kind of city we can be all the time.

Let’s learn from our performance during this Super Bowl Weekend. As I walk the streets of the CBD and the French Quarter, those working for the city or in hospitality make eye contact and greet me before I greet them. We should be this way all the time! If we can make the extra effort to be outstanding for our visitors, then why can’t we be that way to each other?

The mission statement for New Orleans during the Super Bowl for 2013 has been received and put into action. As a city, we can only be as great as the collective effort of each of us who live here and are part of this city every day.

If great teams learn how to perform at peak levels through the experience of big games, then New Orleans is showing it knows how to perform at a peak level for special events. We are the champions! Let’s be champions every day.

You shouldn’t clean up your home and act a certain way only when company comes over – you should be like that all the time. So, New Orleans – let’s work harder at treating our city and each other the way we do when we have company!